Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman DAWN FANTASIA
District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)
Assemblyman REGINALD W. ATKINS
District 20 (Union)
Assemblyman MICHAEL INGANAMORT
District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Torrissi
SYNOPSIS
Increases penalty for certain acts of trespass and vandalism on agricultural and horticultural lands.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning trespass and vandalism on agricultural or horticultural lands and amending R.S.4:17-2.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. R.S.4:17-2 is amended to read as follows:
4:17-2. a. Except as provided otherwise pursuant to subsection b. of this section, any person who trespasses upon the agricultural or horticultural lands of another is liable to a civil penalty of not less than [$100.00] $100.
b. In addition to any other applicable fines, penalties, or restitution that may be assessed pursuant to section 3 of P.L.1983, c.522 (C.2C:18-6) or any other law, any person who knowingly or recklessly operates a motorized vehicle or rides horseback upon the lands of another without obtaining and in possession of the written permission of the owner, occupant, lessee, or licensee thereof, or damages or injures any tangible property, including, but not limited to, any fence, building, feedstocks, crops, live trees, or any domestic animals, located on the lands of another shall be liable to:
(1) a civil penalty of not less than $1,000; and
(2) the owner, occupant, lessee, or licensee of the lands for any reasonable and necessary expenses, including reasonable attorney fees, incurred by the owner, occupant, lessee, or licensee to ensure that the lands are restored to their condition prior to commission of the offense.
The court shall make a finding of the amount of expenses incurred and damages sustained and order the defendant to pay as appropriate. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1) of this subsection to the contrary, if the court makes a finding that the damages sustained exceed $10,000, the court shall order the defendant to pay a civil penalty of not less than $2,500.
c. Any civil penalty imposed pursuant to subsection a. or b. of this section shall be collected in a civil action by a summary proceeding under the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.). The Superior Court and the municipal court shall have jurisdiction to enforce the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999." If the violation is of a continuing nature, each day during which it continues shall constitute an additional, separate and distinct offense.
d. Nothing in this article shall relieve owners of agricultural or horticultural lands from the obligation to provide conspicuous posting prohibiting trespass on the waters or banks along or around any waters listed for stocking with fish in the current fish code adopted pursuant to section 32 of P.L.1948, c. 448 (C.13:1B-30) before a trespass violation may be found.
e. As used in this article, "agricultural or horticultural lands" means lands devoted to the production for sale of plants and animals useful to man, encompassing plowed or tilled fields, standing crops or their residues, cranberry bogs and appurtenant dams, dikes, canals, ditches and pump houses, including impoundments, man-made reservoirs and the adjacent shorelines thereto, orchards, nurseries and lands with a maintained fence for the purpose of restraining domestic livestock. "Agricultural or horticultural lands" shall also include lands in agricultural use, as defined in section 3 of P.L.1983, c.32 (C.4:1C-13) where public notice prohibiting trespass is given by actual communication to the actor, conspicuous posting, or fencing or other enclosure manifestly designed to exclude intruders.
(cf: P.L.2018, c.121, s.3)
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would amend current law concerning penalties for trespass and vandalism on agricultural and horticultural lands. Specifically, this bill would increase the penalty for trespass and vandalism on agricultural and horticultural lands when the damage incurred by the landowner exceeds $10,000.
Under current law, it is a criminal offense to knowingly or recklessly damage or injure any tangible property, including, but not limited to, any fence, building, feedstocks, crops, live trees, or any domestic animals located on agricultural or horticultural lands. In addition, current law provides a civil penalty of at least $1,000 for a person who engages in such an offense.
Under this bill, the minimum civil penalty would be increased from $1,000 to $2,500 if the court determines that the damages sustained from trespass upon the agricultural or horticultural land exceed $10,000. This increased civil penalty would be in addition to any other applicable fines, penalties, or restitution that may be assessed pursuant to section 3 of P.L.1983, c.522 (C.2C:18-6) or any other law. This bill is in response to Resolution No. 26 approved at the 105th State Agricultural Convention, held in February 2020.